Happy summertime wishes to all of our chapter activists. Hopefully you are taking a welcome break over the next couple of months and resting up for what will no doubt prove to be another busy fall.
Some of our chapters were busy right up until July hosting the “Making the Links” tour with Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke. Chapters in Victoria, Vancouver, Kamloops, Kelowna, the Sunshine Coast, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, London, Toronto, London and Saint John held public forums for the tour. These forums raised citizen awareness on the connection between upcoming meetings of the WTO in Mexico this September and the FTAA meetings in Miami this November. As part of the tour Maude and Tony participated in strategy sessions held by community groups in these communities as well as in Edmonton and Halifax, where participants shared ideas for actions this fall.
Regional meetings were held in British Columbia, the Maritimes and Ontario in late spring and early summer. Chapter activists gathered to discuss Council policies and campaign strategies and share the work that they have been doing in their communities. Thank you to the Vancouver, Truro and Peterborough chapters, who played host to the meetings. The Prairies Regional meeting will be held this coming October in Moose Jaw.
Many thanks to chapter contacts Gail McCormack (Guelph), Leigh Thomson (Northumberland), Norman Beach (Swift Current), Betty McClurg (Surrey-Langley-White Rock), Kate MacMillan (Peel Region) and Rob Altemeyer (Winnipeg), who have recently retired as chapter contacts in their communities. Don Hepburn, who has been the Red Deer chapter contact for over six years, was named Citizen of the Year by the Red Deer Rotary Club in May. He was also the recipient of Rotary’s highest award and named a Paul Harris Fellow. Don’s commitment to intentional citizenship reaches into many aspects of community life, and we are very proud that he has been recognized for his important work and commitment to social justice.
There have been some changes to the Organizing Team over the past few months. Claudia-Medina Culos was hired as BC Regional Organizer, while Tara Scurr, who had a baby girl on May 26, is on a year’s maternity leave. Claudia hails from Powell River and recently returned from working as leader of an international program examining the impacts of NAFTA on communities in B.C., Texas and Mexico. We are delighted to have her as part of the Organizing Team.
Candace Hebert, who began her work with the Council as a student intern in Ottawa, left her position as the Maritimes Regional Office Assistant to travel in Africa. Angela Giles has now filled the position. Thank you to Candace for your years with the Council, and welcome to Angela, who has most recently been working as a Youth Mines Ambassador through Oxfam in Halifax. Finally, I’ll be starting a year’s maternity leave from my position as Director of Organizing this July.
My replacement, Marilyn Box, brings with her several years of working in the voluntary sector, including six years as Executive Director of Big Brothers Ottawa-Carleton. We are very pleased to have Marilyn join the Council staff.
Victoria Gibb-Carsley is the Director of Organizing for the Council of Canadians.
In Memoriam: Joan Spira
Joan Wilhemina Spira (née Morrison) died peacefully, surrounded by her children and grandchildren, on May 7, 2003, in Surrey Memorial Hospital. Joan will be especially remembered as a woman with integrity, not afraid to stand up for her convictions.
Deeply committed to community concerns, global issues and environmental causes, she was active in many groups, and was a founding member of the Coquitlam chapter of the Council of Canadians. A quote from one of Joan’s last articles, “We are ever vigilant and will not give up,” sums up her life’s philosophy.
Printer-friendly version:
Download "Chapter Update" in PDF Format (81KB) 
